Sustainable Development Goals and human rights in the EU

Aiming to leave no-one behind

• The EU strongly supports the 2030 Agenda and a rights-based approach to sustainable development
• Existing international and European human rights frameworks such as the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe’s European Social Charter are closely tied to the SDGs
• FRA complements existing data by capturing experiences of people at greater risk of being left behind

Realities on the ground

• Inequality has risen over the last 15 years in the EU
• The number of people in income poverty has risen by 8% since 2005. The largest increases occurred during the economic crisis. But this trend has recently drawn to a halt
• Inequality affects harder certain groups who are at greater risk of poverty...
  • Immigrants 31%, compared to the EU-28 average of 17% (2017)
  • Roma 80% in 8 EU Member States compared to the EU-28 average of 17% (2016)
• ...face widespread discrimination
  • North Africans 31%
  • Roma 26%
  • Sub-Saharan Africans 24%
• ...and hate-motivated harassment
  • Roma 30%LGBT people
  • North Africans 29%
  • Jews 28%
  • LGBT people 19% 

Tools for change

• EU financing and the EU’s policy tools, such as the European Semester
• National action 26 out of 28 Member States have already sent the United Nations their review of national efforts to meet the SDGs
• More active engagement and support by both civil society and national human rights bodies is necessary to implement SDGs from a fundamental rights perspective